WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that four California affordable housing initiatives were awarded a combined $16.2 million as part of the first-ever Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program. PRO Housing aims to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production, preservation, and lower housing costs. 

The funding comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which provided $85 million to establish a competitive grant program in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“Far too many Californians are struggling to afford a place to call home,” said Senator Padilla. “We need to address the housing crisis with the urgency it demands through targeted community investments. While more investments are needed, this new federal funding stream will provide millions of dollars to incentivize affordable housing development, examine historical housing inequities, and expand access to home loans in communities across the state.”

The following California applicants will receive PRO Housing program funding:

• Los Angeles County — $6.7 million: This funding will support housing in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, building and modernizing sewer and transportation infrastructure, and facilitating construction in areas that are supported by major public transit infrastructure, known as Transit-Oriented Districts. The County will conduct an equity audit to reverse land use patterns that have roots in systemically racist policies.

• Metropolitan Transportation Commission of the Bay Area — $5 million: This funding will be used to build and incentivize the construction of new homes to help the Bay Area meet its estimated need for 1.4 million units to address the region’s chronic housing shortage over the next 25 years. The MTC will expand its regionwide technical assistance to remove barriers to site advancements and launch Priority Sites Catalyst Projects, which will be targeted investments in housing-supportive infrastructure.

• Anaheim — $3.5 million: Given that home values keep increasing rapidly and almost half of all households in Anaheim are cost burdened, this funding will be used to create the Anaheim Housing Trust to offer a flexible funding source to support affordable housing development. The City will also establish a City Livability Lab, an autonomous team within the City, that will focus on innovative, systemic shifts in planning and policy to address the affordable housing crisis and quality of life issues through neighborhood-centered revitalization.

• Arcata — $1 million: This funding will be used to develop streamlined, ministerial permitting processes that will reduce costs for builders amid a local population influx due to nearby fires and increased university enrollment. The City will also develop an ordinance supporting the development of Accessory Dwelling Units and create a marketing campaign to encourage property owners to take advantage of the City’s loan program.

PRO Housing provides grant funding to communities working to address local housing barriers such as outdated local regulations and land use policies, inadequate infrastructure, a lack of available financing for development, extreme weather risks, and an aging housing stock. PRO Housing grant recipients will take actions to address these concerns such as updating state and local housing plans, revising land use policies, and streamlining permitting processes. 

Later this year, HUD will make $100 million in additional funding available for a second-round funding competition.

Senator Padilla believes that housing is a human right and recognizes the need to drastically increase the affordable housing stock and address the homelessness crisis facing California and the country, including through supporting particularly vulnerable populations. He recently reintroduced the Housing for All Act, a comprehensive approach to invest in proven, locally-developed solutions to address the homelessness and affordable housing crises. Earlier this year, he also announced hundreds of millions of dollars for California from HUD’s Continuum of Care program for hundreds of organizations working to end homelessness. Last year, Padilla and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a pair of bills, the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Care Coordination Act and the Housing Alignment and Coordination of Critical and Effective Supportive Health Services (ACCESS) Act, focused on addressing the intersecting crises of homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorder. Padilla also cosponsored the Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act, a bill to authorize $1 billion annually to help local governments address homelessness.

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